Let’s bring dignity back to the Speaker’s chair

 

The head of the august House of Representatives in Parliament is the Speaker. Of course, the institution was something handed down to us by the British. Boy, based on the behaviour of the ones who once were or are Speakers, I believe the name is a misnomer.

Sometimes, I wonder if the translators of our Federal Constitution and early laws did the right thing in calling the Speaker the “Yang di-Pertua”. Translated, this normally is referred to as “President” in English when it comes to the Malaysian context.

This may be a coincidence but from the time Barisan Nasional has been calling the shots, the Speakers of our Dewan Rakyat had been behaving more like presidents of bodies and organisations, calling the shots according to the wishes of those who appointed them.

They never spoke up for the underdogs, resulting in a couple of them being questioned if they were the government’s lapdogs.

Perhaps, there was a glimmer of hope when Pakatan Harapan took over in 2018 and appointed a former judge as the Speaker. Honestly, we have not seen anyone with the stature of Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof occupying the prestigious chair, which is always a hot seat.

Some Malaysians rejoiced when Ariff even sent out or suspended members of the ruling PH coalition which nominated him, something that we hardly saw in the entire time BN or its predecessor the Alliance party was the government for more than six decades.

What most Malaysians have been hearing in Parliament over the last couple of decades were the oft repeated phrase of “Duduk, Yang Berhormat” (Sit down, Honourable Member) by the Speaker.

Then came the current Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun, who had for many years touched on the duties and roles of Speakers in his YouTube channel Art of the Matter.

Known popularly as Art Harun, he was critical of the performance of the past Speakers. But he was leaning towards the other side of the divide during this time.

So when PN decided to move him from the hot seat of Election Commission chairman to take over from Ariff after PH was ousted in March last year, there was much frustration and anger on the ground.

But some Malaysians, especially Art Harun’s fans and friends from the civil society, were willing to give him a chance thinking that he will stand up against anyone trying to destroy the august institution which is a vital cog in democracy, one which he had been defending as Art Harun.

For decades, Malaysians had to endure a House that was meant to be august but was instead redu­ced to, as one might say, a circus. So there was hope against hope that Art Harun might live up to his reputation to reform Parliament.

But most were disappointed with his performance, apparently some even disowning him as a friend, which he once disclosed to a journalist.

Art Harun could have saved the dignity of the Speaker’s office and made it a defining moment of his life if he had only broken rank with the party who had appointed him and gone ahead with the motions submitted by the opposition on the emergency ordinances on July 26.

I am sure, deep inside, he must have known of the consequences of a revocation of the emergency ordinances without the consent of the King.

Art Harun was presented with a golden opportunity to go down in Malaysian history as the saviour of democracy even if PN had won a vote. He would have stood tall and Malaysians would have rejoiced whatever the outcome would have been.

Obviously, he chose not to when he could have done so. One can only speculate that he did so because in all likelihood, he would have lost his job after the vote, whoever wins.

Having witnessed last week’s truncated Dewan Rakyat sitting and the current constitutional crisis, there is a crying need for a dynamic and neutral Speaker with able deputies.

If we are pushing for massive reforms aimed at bringing the rule of law back into a politically battered and bruised Malaysia, any ruling government has a sacred duty to appoint a non-partisan Speaker.

In its manifesto, PH had proposed sweeping reforms to Parliament, so that it can fulfil its role as the representative body of the electorate, to make laws and check on the executive, not the rubber stamp that it is right now.

But its manifesto just turned out to be a mere piece of paper. And PH paid the price.

Unlike in the past, a Speaker has to be appointed on merit and not as a reward. And most certainly, politicians must refrain from appointing a card-carrying member of any political party, especially one with a tainted past.

As some will say, we need a Speaker who is whiter than white.

Tough, right? But let’s put it this way. Next to the Judiciary, our Dewan Rakyat should be treated as a sanctum of a temple. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.